Luke 6:12-13 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
In these days, we have to pray for wisdom! In the letter of James, the Lord’s brother, he writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally…” [James 1:5] The context for this request is trials! Since this is a time of almost constant trials, God knows we need His wisdom, more than ever.
As a minister and watchman, I’m often asked what I expect to happen, and what is my advice for it. I can say one thing for sure; the world situation is extremely volatile, with shifting paradigms, and we absolutely must get God’s individual and personal wisdom to navigate these last days.
Yeshua (Jesus) Himself spent a lot of time in prayer. You might think He didn’t need to do that since He was in constant fellowship with his Father, anyway. But it’s clear He needed to get away to concentrate on that relationship and to listen carefully and intently. If the very Son of God needed that time in prayer, how much more do we?
Luke reports that the Lord spent all night in prayer before He chose His disciples. Apparently this was a prerequisite for one of the most important decisions He had to make. Take it to heart; important decisions should NEVER be made without committing yourself to God in prayer, and the more significant the decision, the more concentrated time you should spend hearing God’s mind on the issue.
Make sure you are seeking the Lord for wisdom in these days, to be led of His Spirit, especially when decisions are before you. Rely on His promise to grant you wisdom generously, as He will to all that ask. Perhaps, in the past we’ve made bad decisions because we neglected to seek Him in prayer. We didn’t ask, and thus failed to receive His wisdom. This time, and every time, from now on, follow the Lord’s example…
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There is an important lesson here and in other places of God's Word, namely that humility and gladness go together. What do the humble and the joyous have in common? They both look up. The humble are those who don't look down on anyone. The truly humble look up all the time. They have to look up, because their eyes are on God, and He's above them. The joyous are always looking up as well, otherwise they wouldn't be rejoicing. The joyous are believing the Good News, so they rejoice!
Picture this — you come home from a long day of work — you walk into your living room — plop down on your couch in exhaustion — and there in the corner of the room — your eyes are drawn to something moving — it’s a rattlesnake! Do you say to yourself, “Oh, I’m too tired to worry about that now, I’ll deal with it later?” Of course not! You’d jump up right away, find a bat or something of the like, alert your family, call the neighbors, call 911, call the fire department and who knows what else! It’s a life-threatening situation!
Have you ever heard of the Valley of Elah? It's the valley near Bet Shemesh where David defeated Goliath, yet this historic battlefield is virtually untouched in Israel. During the rainy season a brook runs through the midst of the valley, however it dries up during the summer. This brook is very likely the one from which David chose his five smooth stones – one of which was used to kill Goliath. Yet, this historic place has no landmarks, no churches – people drive past it all the time unaware of it's biblical or historic significance.
After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a once beautiful old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it."
The Book of Daniel prophesied in this passage, that the Messiah will come and be cut off, and then the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (the temple) will be destroyed. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army led by Titus in 70 AD.
The Greek word 'aphesis' means forgiveness. But in this particular verse it’s translated as both deliverance and liberty. Isn’t it interesting that deliverance and liberty are directly tied together with forgiveness?
Joshua son of Nun had been commissioned by Moses to bring Israel into the Promised Land. He was a leader and a general. Having spied out the land and returned with the other 11 spies, he was fully aware of the impending battle and the ferocity of the enemy.There were giants in the land. Having miraculously crossed over the Jordan with all the people and 40,000 armed soldiers, Joshua sensed deeply his responsibility to protect and lead Israel to victory and the inheritance God had promised them.